


Love Letter

by neevebrody



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-12
Updated: 2010-02-12
Packaged: 2017-10-07 04:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neevebrody/pseuds/neevebrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>  "I was going to talk to you about this first," I say, looking past him.  "You weren't supposed to know about this yet, not 'til I explained, it's—"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "written words" challenge at McSheplets  
> An experimentation in first person on top of everything

I don't mind that Rodney never bothers with the chimes anymore, but when he blows in like this, talking a mile a minute, not even stopping to say "hi," I know it's not good. I brace myself and look up from my magazine, 'cause it isn't like he can be ignored.

"What the hell is this?" he demands, flailing whatever it is around too fast for me to get a good look.

I'm sure he doesn't really expect an answer, but I can't help messing with him. "A piece of paper? You've obviously read it. You tell me what it is." He lowers his hand and parks himself on the couch thing by the bed.

"It's from your brother! Came in this morning's databurst."

I suddenly have a bad feeling. "Dave? Is everything all—"

His eyes widen and he starts to blush. Probably didn't think that a message from Dave might worry me. "Oh, no, no," he assures me. "There's nothing, sorry, there's nothing wrong." Relieved, I take a breath and let him finish. "I mean, this was just delivered to me. I thought it was a mistake at first and was bringing it to you, and then I noticed it refers to..."  He fumbles, his blush deepening as he reads, "Madison J. Miller and M. Rodney McKay as Custodian, so I—"

Oh, crap. Now _my_ face starts to flush. I wanted to prepare Rodney for this. Crap. I rub the back of my neck to give myself some time to think. "Actually, Rodney, it is mine. It's—I was—"

"Then why does it have my name on it, why Madison's?" His voice is low and even.

The magazine's closed on my lap, but I fiddle with the page edges. I can feel those blue eyes boring into me even though I'm not looking at him and I am so busted. But this has to be dealt with, so I take a deep breath and toss the magazine aside. "I was going to talk to you about this first," I say, looking past him. "You weren't supposed to know about this yet, not 'til I explained, it's—"

"And yet, you're still not explaining," he says in that irascible tone and I finally look his way. He's got that look, the one that says I better talk fast and get to the point or there'll be finger snapping next.

Dammit, I fumble for the right words. "It's a—trust document, what they call an Irrevocable Trust Agreement, naming—"

He's waving his hands now to cut me off. "Yes, yes, I'm a physicist not an idiot, that much I can read for myself." I know what he wants, but he's gonna have to let me do this my way – I need to lay the groundwork first.

I stutter through a bunch of _I's _and _um's _and _you know's _before the right words just blurt themselves out, "I asked Dave to set up a trust for Maddie and named—I named you as the Custodian of the trust." I nod at him, too, hoping he'll get it.

"Trust?" He sits down beside me and lays a gentle hand on my thigh. "Why would you do that?" The warmth in his voice unknots my stomach, because it's not that he doesn't get it; he gets it all right, now he's just trying to figure out whether to kiss me or bite my head off.

I shrug and groan, because I really suck at this stuff. But it's important, so I reach out and put my hand on top of his. "I set up a trust fund for Maddie—for her education." There. I still can't quite look at him, but I got it out.

Rodney turns his hand over and squeezes mine, and when I look up, he's staring. He opens his mouth, but closes it again without saying anything. He just looks dumbly at the crumpled papers like he's seeing them for the first time. "You didn't have to do this—this is from—your inheritance? Jesus, John—"

"I want to, Rodney," I assure him. "I want to do it for Madison, for Jeannie and Kaleb." I watch the corner of his mouth twist down.

"But—but you've got your own nieces, your own—"

"Who will be well taken care of by Dave and the family. They don't need me, Rodney." He still looks wary and I ask if he thinks Jeannie and Kaleb will mind.

He takes another look at the papers. "No. I don't know," he says, then looks back up, the lines on his face are much softer now, but I can tell he's still unsure. His voice is barely a whisper. "It's just that it's so—so generous. Do you want to tell them?

I'm pretty sure he knows the answer, but I shake my head. "Not especially, not until we have to. I just—I don't want to make a big thing of this, you know, Uncle John pays for college and all… and I wanted someone both Maddie and I could trust to act in her best interest."

All of a sudden the room feels really small and really warm, and Rodney's looking at me like he's waiting for more, so— "I didn't want to leave the discretion to Dave or some corporate hack who didn't know her. Who better than her genius uncle to make all the right decisions?" Then I look him right in the eye. "I trust you, Rodney—and besides, I might not always be around."

I move closer as he leans in to me. "Oh, are we living in different galaxies here—like I'm in any less danger."

He's right, but I try to lighten the mood. "Well then, we'll just have to make sure we both survive, won't we?" I sort of half-smile at him as I interlace our fingers and squeeze his hand.

"Yes, we will," he says, leaning even closer to kiss me and it's different from Rodney's usual frenetic kisses, or the passionate ones when things really start to heat up. His lips are soft and just the fact that he's so slow and giving makes it feel like the first time or something, and just when I start to let go, start to melt into it, he pulls back. He's all kiss-swollen, and I gotta say, so incredibly hot, but he's happy and wrecked, too, so I'm totally unprepared when he asks, "But, why John?"

I blink at him, 'cause I'm sitting here with the warmth of him still clinging to me and he wants details. Not that it isn't a legitimate question, I'm just not sure I can come up with the right words.

"I, I just want them to have enough to—she's a McKay—I hear they're prone to years of education." I try to make him smile, but he's not having any of it and he gives me one of those looks.

"John."

"I have more than enough and you—I don't want Maddie to have to depend on a work-study grant or student loans and having to go through that every year. Even with scholarships, she'll—need things. I don't want her trying to survive on ramen noodles and trail mix. She shouldn't—"

"What's wrong with ramen noodles? Hell, I survived on stuff a lot less tasty, so did her mother. She's a kid; it'll be good for her."

I'm so not buying it. "She's family, Rodney. It's what you do for family."

He's quiet for a moment, like he's processing that. "But, we're not…" He looks down at our hands and rubs his thumb across my ring finger. My stomach starts to knot up again. "I mean, it's not as if…"

I reach over to take his chin in my hand and tip it up so he can see me. I'm not the best at declarations, so I need to make this count. "We're as good as," I tell him, and it's the look in his eyes that makes me go on. "'s good enough for me."

He smiles at that and pulls me to him, and in this kiss, he tells me he understands and that it's all right and way too soon, he's on his feet.

"Wha—where're you going?"

He rolls his eyes, but can't hide his grin. "I'm going to sign this and try and get it back in the next outgoing message. If I hurry…." He turns to go, but pulls up short. "Thank you," he says, and I know he means for more than the trust fund.

I flop back on the bed and watch him walk away from me. I know I'm not the hearts and flowers or candlelit dinners kind of guy – I'd sooner light up Rodney's eyes with a pudding cup – but I'd do anything for him, including adopting even more McKays – accepting his family as my own, and by the way he turns and smiles at me before heading out the door, I'm pretty sure he knows that.

**Author's Note:**

> Betas: erda-3, velocitygrass and beadattitude.


End file.
